


One Strong Woman and Four Strong Men

by gaitwae



Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Gen, Rare Pairings, Thor is a Himbo, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, and the other one she'll probably say "we're better off as friends", are you surprised, bucky gets it sometimes, bucky is clueless but in a good way, cap is an old man, carol helps one of these boys realize he isn't ready for a relationship, happy valentines day, have fun figuring it out, i'll probably never finish, i'm not, i'm totally not going to make this ending predictable, jk, steve borrows some from tony, this is a mini story, this is chaotic but it fuels the calcium in my bones, three himbos and a warrior woman and one braincell to share, usually carol has the braincell
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:40:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28829037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaitwae/pseuds/gaitwae
Summary: Carol Danvers tries a night out with Bucky, Steve, and Thor. She tells them about Nick Fury when he had both eyes. One to five chapter work. :)
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Nick Fury, Carol Danvers/Steve Rogers, Carol Danvers/Thor, James "Bucky" Barnes/Carol Danvers
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	One Strong Woman and Four Strong Men

Carol sat down at the big booth right near the back of the restaurant, folding her hands together neatly. She smiled to herself as she thought of all the things the guys would probably talk about; often, she had felt left out by the Avengers because of how… well, how different they were. Yeah, they were great to get along with. Sure, they were amazing people. No one belittled her or thought she was weak or annoying or overpowered. 

She just didn’t have a ten year bond with the team. She didn’t know these people as well as she would have liked to. She wasn’t there to get into fights or stop threats against the Earth. She was out being a flying policewoman — not a… a  _ hometown vigilante. _

Carol was new to the Avengers. She grew up in the seventies and still looked like she was twenty-nine fifty years later. She was proud to be a hero… But heroes needed an outside life every once in a while. She needed friends. Luckily for her, Thor, Bucky Barnes, and Steve Rogers all offered to take her out to lunch and hang out. She never got the chance to turn them down — she was glad she didn’t feel a panicked urge to come down to the diner with her full suit of armour on. 

Did she ever relax?

Actually, when  _ was _ the last time she had relaxed? Punching Yon-Rogg didn’t count…

To distract herself, she fiddled with the iPhone she had purchased not too long ago. Carol knew how it worked, but she kept staring at it like it would create holograms or use dial-up internet, instead. Humans advanced so quickly compared to Kree. “Why are my palms so sweaty?” she mumbled.

The door opened, revealing three burly men walking through the door: two blond, one brunet, and all three wearing the happiest smiles imaginable. “Oh! Hey, Carol!” Steve greeted. He sat down first, opposite to the captain. He wore a broad grin, one that showed off his dimples and white, shiny teeth. “How long have we kept you waiting?”

“Not too long,” she lied, giving a small smile. Before she realized how much her next statement could give away her lie, she asked, “Did you guys get lost?” She managed not to cringe as hard as she should have.

“No, we didn’t get lost,” Bucky said. He didn’t wear a smile, but his eyes were tinted with glee. He wore gloves and a black leather jacket. It was worn, but it complemented his ice-blue eyes. “We just had trouble fitting onto one motorcycle.”

“Really?”

“No,” he laughed, shaking his head. He laced his fingers together and looked out the window. “Thor got trapped in a public restroom and I got stuck to a door.”

“You got stuck to a door?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, now beaming an ear-to-ear smile. “I have a magnetic arm. You know, going through customs  _ sucks.” _

“I can imagine,” Carol replied. She tucked her hands under her arms. “What about you, Thor? How are you?”

Thor ran a hand through his thick locks. “I’m fantastic, Lady Carol. Thank you for asking. These soldiers tried to trap me in a nasty bathroom.”

“You got stuck!” they both said at once. Bucky’s shoulders shook as he laughed, but Steve’s chest rose and fell. He kept a steady hand against his breast. Maybe he didn’t need to do that; maybe it was a habit. Carol wondered what it could have come from.

Thor’s electric eyes glittered, sparks dancing onto his cheeks. “You both know you paid that idiot to lock my stall. I wasn’t even using your toilet.”

“What  _ were _ you doing, then?” Steve asked, now puzzled. Bucky sighed and rolled his eyes, visibly “stepping” away from the conversation, now. Carol loved watching their exchange; she wasn’t quite sure how to add in, however. She rested her chin on her hand and stayed quiet for a little longer. 

“Fixing my hair! I found something on my armour and went to flush it and I got stuck,” he pouted. “I needed to look impressive in front of — well, impressive for Carol. She likely thinks we’re buffoons.”

“I don’t know about  _ me, _ but you two  _ definitely _ are —,” Bucky began, ducking from Steve’s flying hand with a fit of laughter.

“You three are ridiculous,” Carol said finally. She felt her ears grow hot beneath her sea of hair. “Were you like this on the way to the diner? Fighting and bickering?”

“Absolutely,” Steve spoke right as Bucky and Thor both said something along the lines of “No.” Bucky was shaking his head back and forth as Thor batted the question away with his paws of hands. Carol’s heart skipped. When was the last time she had sat down with friends? When was the last time she was worried about how she felt, or how much she enjoyed the company of someone new?

Thor, Bucky, and Steve already seemed to be so close… and who knew what happened to Maria while she was gone… And Carol couldn’t even remember how Monica was born, or what time of day… 

She sat forward. “So… Steve. Bucky. Thor. Did you all ask me to lunch out of pity?”

The boys shook their heads. “No, of course not.” They all seemed serious. Carol grinned.

“Good,” she said, feeling surer of herself. “Now, before we order —”

“Hold on.” Steve shut his eyes tightly, something along the lines of ‘what’s polite?’ playing along his lips. Carol tried her best not to snort or smirk; she knew he was trying his best. In all honesty, she just wanted to be one of the guys. “Buck?” Steve asked, suddenly looking panicked.

“Yes, Steven?” the soldier drawled, sitting back against his chair. His arms were folded in comfort. 

Falling against the table ever so slightly, the captain finally managed to stutter out, “Did you offer the lady a cigarette?”

“Steve, girls don’t smoke anymore. It’s not healthy, apparently.” He shrugged. “I didn’t bring anything. I don’t need it anymore. You know, they say that smoking actually makes asthma worse. It was a miracle you weren’t dead when you were a kid.”

“Would you just stop talking?”

“Are you nervous?” Thor asked with a hearty rumble of laughter. “It’s only Carol.”

She grinned. “That’s right. It’s only me — nothing special.” She drummed her fingers on the table. “Are we going to split the tab?”

Steve shook his head. “Buck and I pooled some of our money and we got about eighty dollars for lunch. Four people would be able to eat twenty dollars.” He scratched his chin. “We didn’t want you to feel like you’d have to pay for anything when it was  _ our  _ invitation.”

Her eyebrows raised. “You guys really are gentlemen,” Carol said, heart thumping a little louder. They thought of her? “Thank you. I’ll split next time, though. It’s only fair I pay for my food.” 

“Equality ’round the table is a good sign,” Thor praised. The god of thunder slapped his hands lightly against the yellow-orange plastic table. “You’ll be a good friend indeed.”

“…you really think so?” she asked, her throat closing up slightly. She tucked her hair behind her ear. Carol’s thorax felt warm and sparky. She was friend material?

Well, she wasn’t surprised that she was friend material. She always tried her hardest to be the best person she could be. But the fact that three different people were excited to try and get to know her, that they didn’t have any reason to be intimidated or unimpressed by her, it was… liberating. She could be special without being  _ “special.” _

“Absolutely,” Bucky added in. “You’re admirable.”

“Why wouldn’t you be?” Steve supplied. 

“Natasha, Wanda, and I watched some of those old — well,  _ new _ movies where the adventures of friendship are shown a little differently than I’d experienced. They’re always busy, so I didn’t want to bother them. Wanda has Vision, Natasha has missions, and I have, well, nothing.” She looked out the window, face burning. “My best friend has passed now. Her daughter is part of S.W.O.R.D., no surprise there. I don’t have anyone else that gets me, other than Nick Fury.”

“Actually, did  _ you _ take Nick’s eye? I’ve been meaning to ask that—,” Steve tried, but Bucky was talking over him, saying, “—you can’t ask a lady if she  _ took someone’s eye—” _

“What?” she asked, bursting out in laughter. Thor laughed along, but Steve and Bucky sat patiently. “No! His cat did. I haven’t seen Goose in ages…”

“Are you retired?” Thor asked.

“Yeah, I am,” she said. “But only partially. I’m not going to leave and roam the galaxy. After my friend Maria…” She cleared her throat. “After she was buried, I figured I’d better stay. Now that everyone’s trying to find their ways back and the Blip’s been resolved… I think it’s safer just to stay on Earth, ya know?”

“I get it,” Bucky said.

“You better get it; heaven knows you’re the stupid,” Steve smirked, throwing his hands up in a panic accompanied with laughter as his friend’s hand went to swat his head. “No!”

“Are they always like this?” Carol asked Thor.

He gave a sturdy nod and played with his sleeve. Thor didn’t seem nervous when he fidgeted, but rather comfortable. “They’re usually more polite about it, but yes.”

She tried to stifle her giggle, but it was harder than she thought. “Again, I really appreciate you guys taking me out for lunch, today. You hear that, you two?”

Bucky and Steve stopped messing with each other. All three men smiled brightly. “Anytime.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! If you think you know which of these three (rare pairs) go together the best, please comment it! I'll take the most abundant answer and write it the best I can! 😁


End file.
